Most States Fail to Protect Children's Rights in juvenile court proceedings

A report released today says that most U.S. states do not adequately protect the rights of abused and neglected children, specifically by failing to provide these children with appointed counsel to represent and protect the children's interests in juvenile court proceedings. This is truly a sad commentary on the status of chlidren's rights in America.

Twenty-nine states were given grades of C or lower. These states are:

Grade of C: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin.

Grade of D: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Washington.

Grade of F: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maine and North Dakota.

As you can see, Nebraska was given a grade of C.

http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/10/most-states-fail-to-protect-childrens-rights.html

Special Needs Student beaten by Illinois police

Dolton, -- 15-year-old Marshawn Pitts was brutally beaten by a Dolton police officer, because his shirt wasnt tucked in. Pitts was a student at the Academy for Learning High School in Dolton, which claims to be a school for children with learning disabilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGoF3h9iQ5Y